Golf balls generally comprise a core surrounded by a cover and optionally intermediate layers there between. The cover forms a spherical outer surface and typically includes a plurality of dimples. The core and/or the cover may incorporate multiple layers and the core may be solid or have a fluid-filled center surrounded by windings and/or molded material. Golf ball covers may be formed from a variety of materials such as balata, polyurethane, polyurea, and/or thermoplastic compositions and ionomer resins such as SURLYN® and IOTEK®, depending upon the desired performance characteristics of the golf ball and desired properties of the cover.
Golf balls are conventionally white, but may also be manufactured with essentially any desired solid color. The solid color may be incorporated in the cover material itself or be applied to the cover outer surface as a coating. Typically, in a painted golf ball, a first coat or primer layer of paint is applied, followed by a second, i.e., finishing coat or layer.
However, golfers have also enjoyed playing a golf ball having a purely aesthetic unique visual appearance. Previously, golf balls have been marked with localized identifying indicia such as logos, decals, and even stripes. The primary purpose of such localized identifying indicia is to inform or instruct the viewer as to the source or origin of the golf ball. Other localized markings advertise, indicate ownership or in the case of stripes either aid alignment or indicate that the ball is intended for the practice range. Although recently created with markers or ink systems, in the past, stripes were crudely painted on the practice balls with a brush.
Some indicia have been applied manually onto a golf ball outermost surface using permanent marker to ink multiple colors. Additionally, printing and stamping methods/systems also exist for applying localized multi-color indicia/markings such as a trademark, logo, design, identification number, model name and/or number onto a golf ball surface. In such systems, ink is applied to a prefab printing plate or stamp which is then applied onto a limited portion of the golf ball surface. More recently, digital images have even been created and uploaded into a program, golf balls loaded into a printer, and then the prefab multi-color digital image applied to a localized portion of the golf ball surface.
However, such methods are strictly designed and utilized for limited multi-color coverage on the golf ball surface as identifying indicia rather than for providing a purely aesthetic overall color appearance. Specifically, indicia appears on a discrete and isolated portion of the golf ball, deliberately drawing the viewer's attention toward a distinct location on the golf ball outer surface thereby distracting the viewer from perceiving an overall golf ball color appearance.
To date, methods directed to and capable of producing golf balls having more than a localized color appearance of two or more colors for a purely aesthetic purpose have been limited to incorporating the color directly into golf ball components. For example, one such prior golf ball incorporates two differently colored opaque cover halves over the core. Another prior bi-colored golf ball incorporates two differently colored core halves and a uniformly clear cover. Using paint of two or more colors provides the opportunity to create a wide variety of aesthetic visual appearances, increasing the availability of personalized products to golfers. Thus, there remains a need for a method for painting/coating a plurality of different colors onto a golf ball surface and such a resulting golf ball. The present invention addresses and solves this need.